Ruthenium

44Ru101.07

Ruthenium is used in Arc welding.

Properties

Symbol

Name

Atomic Number

Atomic Weight

Group Number

Ru

Ruthenium

44

101.07

8

Description

Standard State: solid at 298 KColor: Silvery white

Berzelius and Osann in 1827 examined the residues left after
dissolving crude platinum from the Ural Mountains in aqua regia.
While Berzelius found no unusual metals, Osann thought he found
three new metals one of which he named ruthenium. In 1844
Klaus recognized as the discoverer, showed that Osann's ruthenium
oxide was very impure and that it contained a new metal.
Klaus obtained 6g of ruthenium from the portion of crude platinum
that is insoluble in aqua regia. The metal is isolated commercially by a complex chemical process,
the final stage of which is the hydrogen reduction of ammonium
ruthenium chloride, which yields a powder. The powder
is consolidated by powder metallurgy techniques or by argon-arc
welding.